Moses the First Five Books

¶ … Moses

The first five books of the Bible are sometimes known as the "Pentateuch," which means "five books." They are also called "the books of the law," because they include the laws and instruction that God gave to Moses for the people of Israel. Except for the last portion of "Deuteronomy," or Moses' death, these books were written by Moses. These five books are the primary books of the Jewish tradition or Torah and, for the Christians, the foundation for the coming of the Messiah or Christ. The five books, or Old Testament, includes stories of the creation of the world, Adam and Eve, the Flood, and the history of the Jewish patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph. A "genre" of the Bible classifies this literature according to a literary genre based on its style of writing, tone, structure, techniques and content.

The genre of the first book, "Genesis," is an historical narrative that relates to the "six days" of creation that began with the general creation of the universe to the more specific of the beginning of the world and all its creatures and humans. As noted in the Encyclopedia Britannica, the book's name comes from the initial line: "In the beginning…." The book narrates the history of the world and the patriarchal history of the Israelite people, including the stories of the Creation, Garden of Eden, Cain and Abel, Noah and the Flood, and the Tower of Babel. The historical narration starts with the promise of God to Abraham that "I will make of you a great nation" and relates the stories of Abraham and his descendants: Isaac and his twin sons Jacob and Esau, and Jacob's family including Joseph, whose story tells how the Israelites came to be in Egypt.

The narrative genre, specifically an "epic," continues in the second book of the Bible, or "Exodus," which explains the story of the Israelites in Egypt to the Holy Land, and ends with the legal genre. The narration includes the introduction, which provides the transition from Genesis and seven parts of 1) the sufferings of Israel in Egypt and God's help is promised; 2) God's power that is shown through the plagues inflicted on Pharaoh and allowing the Israelites to leave; (3) the love of God shown by the trek of the Israelites to Mt. Sinai, even when the people show disbelief; 4) the making the Covenant at Mt. Sinai with its legal ordinances; 5) the directions for building the Tabernacle where God is to dwell in the midst of the people; 6) the Covenant's renewal based on the demands following worship of the Golden Calf, and 7) the building and erection of the Tent of Meeting or Revelation and its dedication to God (Orr).